


She will be loved

by lilymcenvy



Category: Adam Levine (Musician), Blake Shelton (Musician), Miranda Lambert (Musician)
Genre: AU, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-28
Updated: 2015-06-26
Packaged: 2018-03-20 02:16:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3632901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilymcenvy/pseuds/lilymcenvy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He did things to her. Horrible things. He was supposed to help her, not make her life a living hell.<br/>After a year she finally escaped. She ran away from him and nobody's ever knew what really happened.<br/>Now every day from dusk to dawn she just tries to move on, to forget.<br/>Will she ever? Or will her life just get even worse?<br/>What if he comes back?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lucky Strike

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! So this is my first fan fiction written in Eglish. Hope there won't be many mistakes. If yes, please forgive me.  
> Anyway... This is AU. Mainly because of Miranda. She's not famous, she's not even a singer and also she's three years younger than she is in real life. Also Adam is not married.  
> Enjoy!

**Oh oh oh my lucky strike**  
**Oh oh oh my lucky strike**  
 **Your body rocking, keep me up all night**  
 **One in a million, my lucky strike**

 

She was standing by her work station in the studio, staring at a blank paper in front of her. Knuckles of her right hand almost white from how hard she was holding the pencil.  
'Oh god, this project's gonna kill me!' went through her head as she was trying so hard to think of some good design for a living room of one of her current customers. 'Who would like to have a pink living room anyway?!' she was starting to be slightly iritated while going through some fabric samples and patterns. 'Too soft, too light, too dark, too childish... Too pink. Everything is just too pink!'  
All of a sudden the table started vibrating. 'Phone! Somebody's calling me... Where the hell is my phone?' She was flipping everything, trying to find it. And when she finally did she smiled, seeing her best friend's and business partner's name on the display.  
"Hey, Miranda, how's the conference going so far?" she asked right after she picked up the phone call.  
"Hi, Flo. It's going smoothly. Nothing special so far, though. I'm really excited about tomorrow's modern bedrooms exhibition. Too bad you can't be here with me."  
"Yeah. But somebody has to keep it going here, you know," she laughed quietly.  
"You're right. How's it going there anyway? You're still at work?"  
"Yep. Trying to come up with pink living room."  
"Oh, not that one! You poor soul!"  
"Yeah, it's a real pain in the ass. I just want it to be done till Friday so I won't have to think about it during the weekend, you know. I just hope three days will be enough," she laughed again, though she was really worried about this project.  
"It'll be fine, baby. You will come up with something beautiful as always, you'll see. It'll come to you." Miranda always knew how to make Flo feel a little bit better.  
"Thanks, hon'. I sure hope so. I miss you though."  
"I miss you too. I'll be returning on Friday, around five I guess. So I can pick you up at the studio and we can go for a diner, what do you say?"  
"That would be great, M. You can tell me all about New York and what's new in the world of interior design."  
"Oh, I will," she laughed.  
"Okay then."  
"Alright. Baby, I gotta go, wanna catch one more exhibition today."  
"Of course, have fun, M. See you on Friday."  
"See ya. Take care."  
"You too, bye."  
"Bye." They hanged up and Flo put her phone back on the table.  
'Now, back to work!' She was smiling. Miranda always does that to het - puts smile on her face. And out of the blue there was a pink idea in her head. So she started sketching and in a few minutes she was in her element, filling papers with designs, lost in her thoughts, ignoring everything else. In a short moment, she was almost excited about that project. Miranda was right, Flo really did come up with something beautiful. She was feeling proud. That's why she loved her job.  
Right when she was picking the fabric for the sofa, there came "Hello" from behind her back where the door was and she almost jumped up from the shock.  
"Oh, sorry. I really didn't mean to scare you," a little chuckle followed.  
"Don't worry about that," she replied and turned to face the man, "I was just..." and then she frozed.  
There he was, standing in the door, hands in the pockets of his denim jacket, the biggest smile on his face. In that moment she wanted to scream, laught and cry at the same time, tell him how much she loves his work, well, she just wanted to fangirl all over the place. But of course, she didn't. She knew she couldn't. This was her job. And she was a professional after all.  
"You were just... What?" he laught shortly.  
"I was just too focused on my work," she smiled shyly.  
"I see. Sorry for interupting."  
"No, it's absolutely alright. How can I help you, Mr. Levine?" she asked and immediately felt like an idiot addressing him by his name when he's never introduced himself to her. But hey, she knew his name. Everyone did.  
His smile was even bigger now: "Alright, you are advantaged here, you know my name whereas I don't know yours."  
"I'm sorry, it just slipped out before I could even think about it," she felt her cheeks getting warmer and prayed they're not too red.  
"It's cool. Life's easier without having to introduce myself all the time," he smirked.  
She laughed and felt her nervousness going away: "Well, anyway... My name is Flora Green and it's really good to meet you," she said and they shoke hands.  
"My pleasure. You've got an amazing name, by the way."  
"Thank you. I hear that a lot, actually."  
"I bet."  
"Shall we sit?" she finally realised they were still standing and pointed to one corner of the studio where four black armchairs were placed around a wooden coffee table.  
"Yeah, sure. Thanks," he nodded.  
He was still smiling when they both sat down, facing each other: "So I came across your website and really loved your design. So immediately I thought you'd be the first one to turn to... Thing is I just bought a new house here in the city, unequipped. And to be honest I have no idea what to do - what to buy, what not to buy, what goes together, what doesn't, which colors to choose... Yeah, I'm a little bit lost. So that's why I'm here. And I really hope you can help me," he was looking at her, almost desperate.  
She couldn't help it but smile: "I think I can. I definitely try. I have some projects to finish but nothing big. And my business partnet is away this week, however I think we'll manage."  
"Oh, that's great. It's not really an emergency, it can easily wait till you finish other projects. It's actually a house for me and Blake Shelton to live in and we both still have our own place to stay till we can move in so... No rush," he smiled and she could swear he winked at her.  
"Okay. If you want us to design the whole house, then it's definitely work for both me and my business partner Miranda. So I would wait till she get back. Then we can see the house. Also we would need layout of the house and proportions to get an exact sizes of particular rooms. But if you want we could arrange a meeting this week already and go through your suggestions and visions so when we see the house next week I will have an idea what to possibly do with it."  
"That would be perfect. I'm actually free for the rest of this week so I could maybe come round tomorrow?"  
"Yes, that would be nice," she nodded in agreement.  
"Okay, we've got a deal then," he smiled, "Now I should go and leave you to work."  
She smiled in return: "If something come up, just give me a call. Here's my business card," she pick one card from a little pack on the table and passed it to him.  
He took it from her with a little nod: "Alright then."  
They both got up from the chairs and headed to the door.  
"Okay. See you tomorrow, Mr. Levine," she smiled and they shoke hands again.  
"See you," he smiled and with a wink he turned around and disappeared in the hallway.  
She stood there with a storm of thoughts going through her head. 'Did this really happen? Or am I dreaming or what?!'  
She's never consider herself lucky. Quite the opposite actually.  
But this really just happened to her. And in that right moment she felt so proud of what she's been doing. She felt honored, blessed almost. And most importantly she felt really really happy. And that was something that she hadn't felt in a long time.  
With the biggest smile on her face she came back to work.


	2. Wipe Your Eyes

**Please don't lose your faith**  
**Don't worry 'cause I'm here to keep you safe**  
**I promise if you let me see your face**  
**That I won't let you down**  
**I won't let you down**  
**I'm here to wipe your eyes**

 

She got home late. She just got so completely lost in her work and forgot about time. It was almost 11 pm when she finally went to bed. She knew she need to get up pretty early. She's got so much work to do, so many things to finish. But she loved her job, she would never complain about that. And she had to admit she was really looking forward to seeing Adam again.  
***  
Her alarm clock woke her up at 6:30. She got up from bed without problems. She was used to doing that every day.  
She looked outside from the window of hef apartment. She had a view of the main street and behind that there was a sunny beach. She loved this place. She loved this city.  
Her apartment was small cosy place. One bedroom, bathroom and one big room that served as a living room, dining room and kitchen. She was proud of how she made a home for herself from this place. After all she was an interior designer. Although she rarely had visitors here, she never felt uncomfortable in here. It was her perfect place to hide from the world out there. The world she was now watching from her window.  
Sun was already shining. Another hot summer day in LA. Streets were busy even though it wasn't even 7 am.  
She smiled for herself and went to the bathroom.  
***  
In an half an hour she was leaving.  
As for her clothes, she went with simple today - just a light blue laced dress and black heels. Everything she needed, including her phone, purse and diary, was in her black leather bag. And at the last minute she grabbed a folder of some of her sketches from a kitchen counter and now she just carried it in her left hand as she was making her way down the stairs of her building and then along the street in the direction of the studio. It was just two blocks away and she always walked by foot.  
Sun was shining, she found a pair of sunglasses in her bag and put it on, a street was full of smiling faces. And she was really happy. She was excited about today and most importantly she was excited about her life. And that was something new. But she liked it. She liked the way she was feeling now. She was smiling from the very first moment she got up from bed. She was just hoping it will last.  
As always she stopped by the Starbucks along the way to have a morning latte and today she wanted to take a chocolate muffin too because she was getting hungry already.  
While standing in a line by a counter she was texting a good morning message to her younger brother Michael. She always did.  
She was so caught up in texting that she didn't realise it was now her turn to order and somebody already cut in between her and the counter. Before she could look up and make a complaint, a familiar voice said: "I'll have a vanilla latte and whatever this lady is having."  
She looked up and the very first thing she saw was Adam's perfect smiling face.  
"Good morning, Miss Green." he nodded and Flo's knees started being a little shaky, "Your today's breakfast is on my treat."  
"A latte and one chocolate muffin," she said before she even realised she opened her mouth in the first place.  
"You heard the lady," Adam turned to barista who smiled and when on making their lattes.  
"And by the way, good morning to you too, Mr. Levine," Flo said with a smile when she finally pulled it together.  
Adam laughed and paid for their order. Then he passed one cup of coffee along with a paper bag with muffin inside to Flo and took the other cup for himself. Flo stuffed the muffin to her bag and they both headed for the door.  
"I was actually making my way to see you. Is it too early?" he was worrying.  
"No, no, it's fine. It would be too early if you came to the studion and I wasn't there," she smiled.  
"True. So we can walk together?"  
"No, I think it would be better if you walk like maybe 5 meters behind me."  
"What?" he looked like Flo just slapped him.  
"Oh my God, I'm kidding! I'm just kidding, c'mon!" she laughed.  
"Oh Jesus! I really thought you were dead serious," he laughted too and looked relieved.  
"We can definitely walk together. And thank you for the breakfast," she said and they started walking.  
"You're welcome. And... I haven't asked you yet... How are you doing today?" he looked at her like he genuinely cared and wasn't just making a smalk talk.  
"Really good, thanks. And you?"  
"Good, good. Thanks for asking. Looks like it's gonna be a hot day today, huh?"  
"Sure does, yeah."  
"So... You grew up here?" he asked.  
"Nope. I come from a small town in Oklahoma."  
"No way! Blake's not gonna shut up about that," they both laughed and Flo thought how weird is her life getting that she already could imagine how she's gonna talk about Oklahoma with the one and only Blake Shelton.  
"Yeah. Both, me and Miranda, come from there," she said.  
"So you two know each other a long time then."  
"We do. She lived in a house next door. We grew up together. Went to school together. Then went to uni here. Then started a business together."  
"Wow. That's a quite history."  
"Yeah. I don't know where I'd be without her."  
"That's what best friends are for, right?"  
"Guess so."  
Fortunately they reached the studio so there wasn't time for conversation to turn somewhere uncomfortable for Flo.  
"Here we are," Flo said and found the keys in her bag.  
They came inside. Flo went straight to her working station so she could put down the folder of sketches, coffee cup and her bag. As she started taking sketches out of the folder, for a moment she turned her back to Adam.  
"I'm sorry," he said quietly behind her.  
"What?" she asked and turned to face him.  
"I'm sorry if I said something I shouldn't."  
"No... You didn't..." she sighed, "Look... I just... Basically ran away from Oklahoma because... Of reasons. And it's still little difficult to talk about that... Or even think about that sometimes. So... It's not your fault," she turned again to grab few papers, pencils and her coffee and headed for the corner with armchairs and table: "Should we get to work?" she asked and without a respond Adam followed her. Flo sat down and so did he, this time right next to her.  
She put the coffee down at the table, grab a pencil and put few papers in her lap. But before she said anything, Adam touched her hand: "Hey! Are you okay? I can go if you want me to," he smiled a little.  
"Yeah, of course I am okay. Don't worry about that," she waved her hand like it's nothing. And it was. She really didn't know how they got to this.  
"Can I call you Flora?" he asked out of the blue.  
"What?" she was confused.  
He laughed shortly: "Can I call you by your first name?" he asked again.  
She realised what he ment and smiled: "You can call me Flo, if you want."  
"Alright. But only in one condition..."  
"And that is?"  
"You call me Adam."  
"I can do that, yeah," she nodded with a big smile.  
"Perfect! Now we can get to work," he smiled too and sipped from his cup.  
And so they did get to work. Though they still managed to talk about other stuff like new music, movies and some TV shows. And they spent almost three hours like that.  
"So I think I have a pretty clear idea how you'd like the house to look like. But what about Blake. Does he have an opinion on that. Does he want something special?"  
He shrugged: "I have no idea. He didn't tell me anything. Well... We didn't actually talk about that so much. But..." he hesitated.  
"But what?" she laughed quietly.  
"Well we're supposed to have lunch together. You can join and ask him for yourself," he smiled.  
She sighed: "I would love to but... I really need to finish something here."  
"Oh, of course. Then I should get going and stop wasting your time."  
"You're not wasting my time. And after all, this is work too, you know."  
"True. Anyway... I'll see you soon, right?" he asked and stood up.  
"I think you will," she stood up too and walked him to the door.  
"Okay. I'll give you a call or something."  
"Okay," she smiled.  
"Bye Flo," he winked.  
"Bye Adam."  
Then he walked away. Flo laughed because it was quite ridiculous how comfortable she felt around Adam.  
***  
Around 8 pm she finally got home and was so tired that she just had a quick dinner and went to bed.  
***  
Her morning was exactly the same as the previous day, except meeting Adam of course. She arrived at the studio around seven and got straight to work.  
Today was Friday and she was really looking forward to seeing Miranda in the evening.  
At noon she went for a lunch in a nearby restaurant, but took work with her. And when she got back to the studio, she made herself a cup of coffee and continued working. Just another normal work day.  
But maybe an hour after lunch there was a knocking on the door. She turned to see Adam standing there with a big smile on his face.  
"Adam?" she couldn't believe it. Was it really him? Until that moment, she didn't realise how much she wanted to see him and how much she missed talking to him. And it was just one day.  
"Hi there."  
"What are you doing here?" she asked when he came closer.  
He shrugged: " I was bored and wanted to see you," he said and Flo's heart skipped a beat. "Also wanted to make sure you're not overworked."  
"Well, it's quite late on that last one," she laughed.  
"You're a workaholic, aren't you?" he laughed too.  
"Not really. But it's Friday and I have some deadlines to meet, so..." before she could finish, her phone started ringing. It was actually Maroon 5's Payphone which made Adam smile and Flo feel embarrassed.  
"Excuse me," she said as she went to pick it up.  
With a quick look on the display she found out it's her brother Micheal who's calling her.  
"Hi, Mickey," she accepted the call.  
"Hey, Flo," he said and in that moment Flo already knew something's wrong. By the way he said those two words... Too quicky like he was afraid he would start crying.  
Flo's knees became weeker when she asked: "What happened?" she was afraid of the answer.  
Adam's smile dropped as he realised something's wrong too.  
Michael started spilling words out just too quickly for Flo to understand.  
"Hey, Mickey. Calm down, I don't understand a word you're saying."  
"It's dad," he slowed down a little bit, "he's in hospital. He was stabbed."  
"What do you mean he was stabbed?" Flo hoped she heard wrong.  
"We went to the mall together. And... There were three guys yelling at me. Dad sticked up for me... They started pushing him. Punched him few times. He gave few punches back. Then... One of the guys pulled out a knife and stabbed dad in his back," he started sobbing.  
"What about you? Are you okay?"  
"Yeah. But... Dad wad bleeding a lot and... I don't know, Flo... I'm so scared."  
"What did doctors say?"  
"Nothing. Nobody's talked to me yet. They rushed him straight in the operating room and still haven't come out."  
"Okay, Mickey. Just... Wait there, okay. I'm gonna be there in a minute. Just... Stay where you are and wait for me," she tried so hard not to cry. She couldn't. Mickey needed someone who's brave and strong. Who can calm him down, who he can rely on. She wasn't strong, she wasn't brave. She was far from that. But she had to try, she had to be there for him. So in one breath she told him to wait for her and as soon as she hung up, she lost it. Her eyes filled with tears, her chin started shaking. She hated this. Hated being so weak, so vulnerable, so scared. Especially when Adam was there to see her like that.  
She closed her eyes and felt tears streaming down her cheeks.  
"Hey, it's gonna be okay," she heard Adam wispering and then felt his arms around her. He held her tight while smoothing her hair with one hand. She buried her face in his shoulder and already felt that the hug is really helping her. She felt that she's not alone.  
When she pulled out from the hug after few minutes, he looked into her teary eyes: "Let's get you to the hospital, okay?" he whispered and offered her a soothing smile.  
She took a big breath so she would be able to speak again but before she could say anything, he continued: "My car is just around the corner, so I'm taking you there and I don't wanna hear any complaint."  
And there it was - a smile on her face. Then she nodded: "Okay. Thank you."  
Then she grabbed her phone and her bag and followed him to the hallway.  
They came to Adam's car in five minutes, jumped in, Adam started the engine and they were on their way to the hospital.  
Few more tears were coming down from Flo's eyes. She brushed her hand against her cheek to wipe them away and then she took a deep breath to pull herself together.  
"You are really brave, you know that?!" Adam said.  
"Am I?" she didn't feel brave at all.  
Adam nodded: "Yes. I would be a mess, being in your place now."  
"Well... I can't really afford that."  
"How come?"  
"By crying and falling apart I'm not gonna help my brother. And he needs me now, needs my help, my support..."  
"Like I said, you are really brave."  
"It's my responsibility to make sure my younger brother is okay... I always wanted a brother, you know. And when after years of listening to my complaining and persuading dad decided to adopt Mickey, I swore I would always be there for him."  
"So Michael is adopted?" Adam asked and she nodded. "Does he know?"  
"Yeah, he was four when he came to our family."  
"So your parents couldn't have another baby?"  
"My mom died when I was three."  
"Oh... I'm so sorry, Flo. I shouldn't have asked."  
"It's okay. You didn't know. And it's been a long time, you know. And dad's always been there for me. I was never alone. He's my hero, you know," she fought back another rash of tears.  
"He sounds like a great guy," he said and they were quiet for the rest of the journey.  
When Adam pulled the car in the hospital parking lot, Flo jumped out and rushed in the ER. She saw her brother right away. He was sitting in one of the chairs along the wall. He was hiding his face in his hands, elbows on his knees. His shoulders were slightly shaking from crying. As Flo was approaching him, she saw few stains of blood on both - his t-shirt and jeans. And then she noticed one more thing... When few months ago Michael spent the first night at his boyfriend Dan's place, he came back home wearing Dan's blue plaid shirt. Since that he's worn it almost all the time. Now that same shirt was laying on the chair next to Michael, soaked in blood.  
Flo stopped and hesitated. In that moment... That shirt... It hit her. She felt she's getting weaker again. She doubted she can do it.  
Then she felt somebody touched her back. She turned her head and saw Adam.  
"I'm still here if you need anything," he said with a reassuring smile. She nodded and smiled shakily.  
"Mickey?" she turned to her brother again.  
He looked up and when he saw her through his tears, he stood up quickly to hug her.  
She held him tight, she didn't mind the blood, rubbed his back with one hand.  
"It's all my fault. It's all my fault," he was wispering repeatedly.  
"Stop!" she cut him off and broke the hug so she could look into his eyes, "Just stop, Mickey, okay?! Don't do this to yourself. Don't blame yourself. That's bullshit. We both know it's not your fault, dad knows it too. And you might have saved his life at the top of that 'cause you made sure he'd made it to the hospital in time, okay?!"  
"You think?"  
"Of course."  
Then they went to sit down again. Mickey took the plaid shirt and put it in his lap so Flo could sit next to him.  
"Do you think blood'll go away when I wash it?" he was looking down on the folded shirt in his lap.  
"We'll see hon'. And if not, I think Danny has one more shirt to spare."  
Mickey smiled a little. Flo was so proud of herself at that moment. She leaned over to kiss her brother on the forehead.  
"Have you called Dan?" she asked afterwards.  
"Not yet... He's still at work."  
"He should know, sweetie. You know he's gonna be right here no matter what. And you want him here, right?"  
He nodded.  
"Then you should call him."  
"Okay. I will," he reached to the pocket for his phone, "And... Flo... I almost forgot... When we arrived, someone wanted me to fill out some papers but... I wasn't really able too," he didn't have to finish and Flo said: "Alright. Just call Danny and I take care of that," she smiled and stood up. Mickey was dialing his boyfriend's number and Flo headed to Adam who was sitting in one chair by the opposite wall.  
"Adam, will you please watch over Michael before his boyfriend arrive? I need to go to fill out some papers."  
"Of course, Flo," he nodded.  
"Thank you," she smiled and went on to find someone who would tell her what she needs to do.  
She found a nurse station with older red-headed smiling woman standing by the desk.  
"Hello, darling, how can I help you?" the woman asked when Flo approched the station.  
"Hello. My dad was stabbed and... He's in a surgery, I supposed. And my brother told me there are some forms that has to be filled out."  
"Just a second," her eyes were wandering all over the desk and then she's probably found what she was looking for because she looked up at Flo again, "Your dad's name is Jim Green, is that right?"  
"It's absolutely right," Flo nodded.  
"Yes. Okay. He's indeed still in surgery. And yes, I really need you to fill out some papers for me. But if you need to be with your brother right now, it really can wait," she smiled symphatetically.  
"No, it's okay. A friend of mine is with him right now and his boyfriend should be here any minute."  
"Alright. Then I'll give you the papers. Let me find them... Yes, here they are. It won't take a long to fill it out," she handed Flo few papers and a pen and she started writing right away.  
"How is your brother doing?" the nurse asked.  
"A little bit better, I think... He still blames himself though."  
"Sorry to hear that. He is a sweet boy, I talked to him when they arrived. Took him to wash his hands."  
"Thank you for that... And, yes, he's really sweet."  
"My son has a boyfriend too, you know."  
"Yeah? Good for him. Tell me then... Have there ever been some random three assholes yelling at him in the street and then stabbing his dad in his back?" Flo got mad out of a sudden.  
"No," the woman looked shocked, she probably didn't expect that.  
Flo sighed: "I'm sorry... Really sorry. It's just..." she couldn't find the right words.  
"It's okay. No need to apologize, darling. I know it's difficult to go through something like this."  
Flo nodded and handed her back already filled out forms. She thanked Flo with a smile.  
"So... Do you happen to know anything about my father's condition?"  
"Unfortunately I don't. I'm sorry. Like I said he's still in the surgery. But somebody will talk to you as soon as they finish, I promise."  
"Thanks," Flo smiled and turned to walk away.  
"Hey, sweetheart!" the woman called after her.  
Flo looked back at her.  
"You should really make sure police knows about what happened to your dad."  
"'kay," Flo nodded, thanked the nurse with a smile and went back to the waiting room.  
Danny was already there sitting next to Michael, who was just accepting a cup of coffee from Adam. Flo smiled for herself. She was so grateful to Adam for being here.  
Adam then sat down too, right next to Michael, on the other side then Danny was sitting.  
When Dan noticed Flo's back, he smiled at her and stood up to give her a hug.  
He was actually a year older then Flo which meant he was six years older than Mickey. Flo adored Danny. He was the perfect boyfriend for her brother.  
"How are you?" Dan asked Flo when he looked into her eyes.  
"Been better," she shrugged.  
"You know Jim's strong, he will be okay."  
"I know... Yet I'm still scared."  
"I understand," he gave her one more hug before sitting back down.  
Flo took one chair and moved it so she could sit opposite to Michael.  
"Listen, honey. I need to ask you something," she sat down and held one of her brother's hands.  
"Yes?"  
"Have you called the police?"  
Michael looked shocked as he realised he completely forget to do something like that. Then he shook his head: "I'm sorry. Didn't even occur to me I should do that. I just called the ambulance, that's all."  
"It's okay. You did the right thing. Though I'm afraid you will have to talk to the police. They should know."  
"Do you remember how the guys look like, babe?" Danny asked his boyfriend.  
"I think I do," Mickey nodded.  
"Good boy," Danny smiled and gave Michael a kiss. Flo couldn't help but smile too.  
"You know, I have a friend who works for the police. I could give him a call. Ask him if he could come here," Adam said.  
Flo thought for a second and then she asked her brother: "Will you be able to talk to him today, honey?"  
"It could easily wait till tomorrow, babe," Danny added.  
"No. I wanna do it as soon as possible," Mickey said.  
Flo was so proud of him. She knew he's just trying to look brave in front of Dan, but still...  
She nodded and turned to Adam: "Okay. It would be great if you called him."  
"Okay," he smiled.  
"So... He's your boyfriend?" Danny asked Flo when Adam stood up and went to stand at the other side of the room to make a phone call.  
"Oh, shut up," she laughed, "he's my client, actually."  
"Yeah? That's why he's here with you," Danny smiled. He obviously didn't believe a word Flo just said.  
She just rolled her eyes and stood up to go to talk to Adam because she noticed he already hang up.  
"Hey, so I called Thomas and he's gonna be here in a minute," Adam said when he saw her.  
"Great," she smiled thankfully, "Anyway, Adam... I really appreciate you're here. Really, really! Thank you!"  
"But?"  
"What? No... There's no but. I just wanted you to know how grateful I am. And..."  
"Oh, there it is."  
She laughed: "No... Just... I really don't want to bother you. This is... This is my crisis, not yours. So if you wanna leave I won't stop you."  
"Look, Flo. If you want me to leave I'll go, no problem, no hard feeling. But... I just wanna make sure you and your dad are okay. And... Want to be here if you need anything. So... Is it okay if I stay?"  
Flo smiled and nodded: "Thank you... Again... For everything."  
Adam laughed: "You're welcome."  
Then they went back to sit down and wait.  
***  
They didn't need to wait for a long time though. Maybe 15 minutes later the red-headed nurse came to the waiting room.  
Flo jumped out of her chair and gave her a hopefull look.  
The nurse smiled and nodded: "Your dad's been transfered to his room. Surgery went well. He's still sleeping but he's gonna be okay. Doctor will be right here to talk to you in a sec."  
Flo felt like she can finally breathe again. She smiled but wanted to cry from how happy she was.  
She turned and gave Michael a hug. He was smiling too. Flo then looked into his eyes and ran her thumbs across his cheeks to wipe away last tears. "Okay?" she asked.  
"Okay," he nodded.  
"Thank you," Flo said to the nurse who then walked away.  
But basically right after she disappeared, a middle-aged man in a white cloak walked in.  
"Hello," he smiled, "You are Mr. Green's family?"  
"Yes," Flo nodded.  
"Okay. So I'm doctor Rolland, an operating surgeon. The surgery ended well. He lost a lot of blood and I'm not gonna lie I was really worried he's not gonna make it. But he is a fighter, he pulled through. He's resting now in his room. You can go to see him, but... There is one more thing you should know..." his smile dropped.  
Flo was trying to focus on what the doctor was saying, she felt like it's something important. But there were just so many medical terms she didn't understand that she just got lost. And after all, she already knew her dad's gonna be alright, what else she needed to know?!  
But then Mickey started crying again. Of course, Flo knew Michael as a future doctor himself would understand. He's already been through two years of University. So it was quite obvious that he would know what the doctor's talking about. However Flo didn't have any idea about what's going on, so she focused on doctor's final words: "...So basically with intense rehabilitation there's a possibility he'll be able to walk again. But for now I can't tell you anything for sure."  
She felt like somebody just punched her in the chest: "Can I see him?" she asked before even thinking about that.  
"Of course," doctor nodded, "Follow me," he said and headed to the hallway. Flo took her brother by hand and they both went after the doctor.  
He took them to one room at the end of the long hallway and all three of them came in. The room was small. There was just one bed with two nightstands - one at each side, and in one corner of the room there was a brown armchair. There were shades at all windows, the room was drowning in dimness. When they came inside, first thing Flo noticed was beeping of all machines by the bed. Then she automatically looked at one display showing her dad's heartbeat. The thin green line jumping up and down... And the regular beeping... Those were the good signs.  
Then she finally looked at her dad laying in the bed. His eyes were closed, his expression absolutely calm. When Flo came closer, she noticed a little bit of dried blood at his bottom lip and a bruise under his left eye. She touched his face with her fingertips like she couldn't believe this was her dad. His skin was warm. She smiled.  
Then she gently kissed his forehead. Michael was standing right next to her, holding their father's hand.  
"When will he wake up?" Flo asked the doctor.  
"It should be any minute now," he replied with a little smile.  
At that moment Danny came in: "Guys, the police is here. And they want to speak with you too, doc. Should I tell them to wait?"  
"No," Michael said right away, "I will talk to them."  
"Do you want me to come with you?" Flo asked.  
He shook his head: " No need. Just stay here with dad. Don't want him to be alone when he wakes up," he smiled and followed Dan out of the room. Doctor Rolland went after him.  
Flo was alone with her dad. She held his hand and watched his eyes as she was waiting for him to open them.  
After few minutes there were footsteps behind her. She turned her head to see Adam hasitating in the door frame. She smiled: "He's still sleeping," she said and he came to her.  
"How are you feeling?" he asked her.  
She shrugged: "To be honest I don't know. I'm glad he's alive but at the same time I'm still scared of what's gonna follow. I want him to wake up. And... I think I'm just really pissed that something like this is even happening."  
"Yeah, I totally get that."  
"So... Do you think I could ask you for one more favour?"  
"Of course. Anything," he smiled.  
"I thought... After dad wakes up, I would bring him some stuff from home as he's probably gonna be here a while. And..."  
"Yeah, I can definitely take you there and back," he said, she didn't even have to finish.  
"Okay," she laughed quietly.  
Then she felt like dad lightly squeezed her hand.  
"Dad?" she wispered and squeezed his hand too.  
"I go get Michael," Adam said and walked away.  
"Dad?" she wispered again.  
"Flo? Is that you?" he asked quietly and then slowly opened his eyes.  
"Yes, it's me."  
"Where am I?" he looked around.  
"You're in hospital, daddy."  
Then he probably remembered what had happened because suddenly he looked terrified: "What about Mickey? Is he okay? Where is he?"  
"Calm down, dad. He's alright. He went to talk to police."  
"I'm here, dad," came from the door and in a second Michael was by Flo's side.  
"Oh, son, thank God you're not hurt!" he exhaled.  
"I'm really sorry, dad... About what happened."  
"Why would you be sorry?"  
"It's my fault you're here."  
Jim sighed: "Flo, honey... Would you be so kind and tell your little brother that what he's just said is bullshit?"  
Flo laughed: "I already did. But you know Michael," with one arm she grabbed him by his waist and pulled him closer. Then she kissed his cheek: "Shut up, baby! You're talking nonsense."  
"Thank you," Jim said and smiled. Michael smiled too.  
"I feel so tired," Jim complained.  
"Doctor said you should rest, dad," Mickey said.  
"We'll leave so you can sleep," Flo added, "I'll bring you some stuff from home."  
"Okay. Thank you," he smiled and closed his eyes.  
"We love you, dad!" Flo said and kissed him on his forehead.  
"I love you too, kids. See you later."  
They went to the hallway and closed the door behind them.  
They were holding hands and they started walking back to the waiting room.  
"I still need to talk to police," Michael said.  
"Okay. Adam said he'd take me to grab something for dad at home. We will be right back."  
He nodded: "Then we should talk about what to do next."  
"We will," she smiled.  
They arrived to the waiting room. Doctor Rolland was talking with two men in suits. Flo knew right away they're from police.  
"How is he?" Dan asked them.  
"Fine. Just tired. He felt asleep again," Mickey said and Dan looked relieved.  
"Do you wanna go right now?" Adam asked Flo with a smile.  
She nodded: "Yes, please."  
They both headed to the parking lot and to Adam's car.  
"So where do you want me to go?" Adam asked when they got in the car.  
"Just go west. I'm gonna tell you along the way."  
"Okay," he smiled and started the engine.  
"So... Your dad looks quite young," he said after couple of minutes.  
"Yes, he still is. After all, he was just 20 when I was born... Turn to the right here, please."  
"Oh, wow. So... He was that young and raised you on his own anyway."  
"Well... What other choice did he have? I mean... My grandparents, mom's parents, helped a lot at the begining. We lived with them in one house. But after a short time dad just bought a small cosy house on his own. And it was just the two of us. I mean... Until he adopted Michael."  
"Wow. Your dad deserves a medal or something!"  
"Yeah, he really does, doesn't he?! Here to the right again, please."  
"It must have been hard for him when you went to University. I mean... You two are obviously very close, right?"  
"Yeah. And... You know, it was hard for me too. Just left him and Michael. But... Just... There were things I needed to run away from," there it was again. They were talking about this again. And Flo hated it. She was angry... At herself. For not being able to talk about it. Everytime this thing came up, Flo just felt like she's still that broken little girl. She hated that feeling. From all things she hated this the most.  
She felt Adam's looking at her. She just praied he would change the subject. But he was quiet, he just looked at her when he could without loosing control over the car.  
"Here to the left, please," she broke the silence instead.  
"So your dad lives in the hills?" Adam asked when he realised which way they're heading.  
She relaxed again and nodded: "Yes. I used to lived here, in the same house, with Miranda, when we were studying at the University. But when Michael graduated, he and dad moved here too. They lived with us. Then we started our business and eventually got our own places. And the house became just dad's and Mickey's."  
"And Michael still lives there?"  
"Yeah. I mean... He has a majority of his stuff there but obviously he spent a lot of time at Dan's place now."  
"I thought so," Adam laughed and Flo smiled.  
"Okay. Turn to the right here and it's the second house. Yeah, over there," she pointed at one small building with a little lawn in front of it. It was a two-flored house with a brown roof.  
"Nice house," Adam said and parked at the driveway.  
"It is!" Flo smiled and they got out of car and headed for a front door. Flo found keys in her bag and they came inside.  
The ground floor was one big open space. There was a living room, kitchen and a dining room. All furniture was wooden and there was a lot of plants. It was clear that Flo and Miranda have done a lot of work there.  
"Wow, it's kinda awesome here," Adam said.  
"Thank you," Flo smiled, "Just give me a second, I need to go and get some stuff upstairs," she headed for stairs.  
"Okay, no problem. Take your time."

When she got to the first floor, she went to her dad's bedroom.  
It didn't take her long to pack all the things and in just a few minutes she was already on her way downstairs. She found Adam looking at the pictures hanging on the wall. There were some photos of her like a baby, then some of her and Michael when they were both little, and then there were a lot of pictures of her and Miranda - from their childhood, high school, summer camps, university, graduation, concerts, parties or from the times when they were just bored and decided to take pictures.

Adam was smiling and Flo freaked out because she knew there were some really embarrassing photos.  
"These are awesome!" Adam said when he noticed she's back.  
"Don't know about that," she laughed.  
"A lot of memories is here, huh?" he was still looking at the wall.  
"Yeah, a lot," she nodded with a smile.  
"Oh my god! No way you two were at Shelton's concert?" he laughed when he saw one picture of Flo and Miranda, standing in the crowd with the stage behind them, both wearing Blake Shelton's fan T-shirts.  
"Yeah, we were. More than once, actually. He played in Oklahoma quite often, you know."  
"I bet he did. I play in LA quite often too. Have you ever been on any of my concerts... Maybe?"  
She shook her head.  
"Why? You're not a fan?" he asked and gave her a sad look.  
And she felt so bad about it. She just didn't know what to say. She was a fan. Of course she was. Every girl was a fan of Adam. After all, Flo'd never missed The Voice on TV. She was a fan of Maroon 5... Kinda. She fancied songs she heard from them. But she just hadn't hear a lot of them. Just the ones that were played on the radio - the popular ones. She'd never searched for more on her own. And she regreted it so much now. What was she supposed to say to Adam?  
She was saved by a doorbell.  
"Sorry," she whispered and sighing in relieve she went to see who's there.  
When she opened the door, she saw an older brunette standing there. The woman seemed surprised when Flo appeared in the door frame: "Hello," she said after short hesitation.  
"Hello. How can I help you?" Flo asked with an uncertain smile.  
"I'm looking for Jimmy. We were supposed to meet but he didn't come. So I was wondering where he is."  
"Jim's my father," Flo was trying so hard to stay calm.  
"You're Flora then, right? I'm Ellen. Jim told me so many things about you. It's great to finally meet you," the woman said and reached a hand to her and Flo shook it.  
"I'm sorry but who are you?" Flo asked, still a bit confused.  
"I just told you... I'm Ellen."  
"I know. I heard you. I mean... Who are you?"  
"Can I speak with Jim?" Ellen asked instead of answearing the question.

"Who's asking?" Flo started being slightly irritated.  
Then Adam stepped in: "Hey, hey, Flo, it's okay," he said with a soothing smile and put one hand at Flo's shoulder, "Hi, there," he turned to Ellen, "I'm Adam, Flo's friend. Jim's not here right now."  
"And do you know where he is?"  
"Well..." Adam hesitated.  
"Look... I'm Jimmy's girlfriend and he's not answearing my calls. So I just wanted to know where he is."  
"What? My dad doesn't have a girlfriend!" Flo shook her head in disbelieve.  
"Yes, he does, for six months now. He just hasn't told you yet.  
"Six months? That's just..." then she just sighed, "Look! We don't have time for this. I have to go back to the hospital."  
"What? Is Jim in hospital? What happened? Is he alright? Is it serious? What?" Ellen started panicking.  
Flo was just watching her, still not able to understand that her dad had had a girlfriend for six months already and hadn't told her yet.

"Hey, Ellen," Adam said, "Calm down, please. He'll  be alright. I think you could come with us back to the hospital, if you want. What do you think, Flo?"  
Flo just shruged: "Whatever."  
Ellen turned to Adam: "I'd love to go with you."  
"Okay. Let's go then," he smiled and they all headed for Adam's car.  
When they turned around the first corner, Flo felt tears making their way into her eyes.  
"Are you okay?" Adam asked her.  
"No," was all she managed to say.  
Before Adam could respond, Flo's phone started ringing. She found it in her bag and looked at the display: "Hey, M." she smiled a little when she greeted her best friend.  
"Hi, babe. What's up?"

Flo was quiet. She just didn't know what to say.  
"Oh, god, what happened?" Miranda just knew.  
Flo sighed: "Oh, hon'... A lot."  
"Okay, Flo. Just... Breath, stay calm and tel me... Wherever you are, I'm gonna be there in a few minutes."  
"I'm on my way to the hospital."  
"God, hon', are you alright?"  
"I am. But dad was stabbed," she breath out.  
Miranda was at lost of words. Ellen sitting at the backseat gasped for air.  
"I'm sorry. We have to cancel our dinner," Flo said.

"Of course. Don't worry about that. I'm gonna come to the hospital and meet you there, okay?"  
"Okay," she smiled.  
"Alright. I'll be there in a few minutes. It's gonna be okay. Just hang in there."  
"I'll try."  
"Okay. See ya in a bit."  
"See ya, hon'," Flo said and when Miranda hung up, she put the phone back to her bag.  
It was quiet for a minute and then Ellen broke the silence: "Is he gonna be alright?" her voice was shaking.  
Flo took a deep breath. She was so tired from everything what happened today. She didn't have energy to argue with anyone. Especially with someone who's apparently her dad's girlfriend. So she turned back to look at Ellen: "I'm so sorry for being really (really!) rude to you. I didn't mean to. It's just..." she sighed.  
"It's fine, darling. I get it now. And I wasn't very nice to you either. It just wasn't like I'd imagined me meeting you for the first time," she said with a sad smile and reached out to hold Flo's hand.  
Flo held on to her so tight and told her what happend to Jim, what the doctor said and how scared she is about what's gonna follow.

"Don't worry, sweetheart," Ellen smiled, "Jim's gonna make it through. We're all gonna help him and everything's gonna be just fine."

Flo smiles too and they are quiet for the rest of the ride.


End file.
